YazataJun 6, 2021 12:12 AM (This post was last modified: Jun 6, 2021 02:15 AM by Yazata.)
Tonight SpaceX is slated to launch a big heavy geostationary direct broadcast satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for Sirius XM. The satellite weights 7 metric tons and was manufactured by Maxar in Palo Alto California, formerly Space Systems Loral, a major satellite manufacturer not all that far from my home. Time is 00:26 AM EDT, 9:26 PM PDT and 04:26 UTC.
Booster will be B1061.3 on its third flight. Its previous adventures were Crew-1 and Crew-2, so this will be its first trip into space without those squishy little humans aboard. Landing on JRTI. This will be SpaceX's 122'd Falcon 9 launch, their 18'th so far this year and their 2'd in 3 days from Cape Canaveral! (Falcon 9's have given them a nice little revenue stream making them perhaps the most profitable commercial launch provider.
Michael Baylor's little write up from nextspaceflight.com, the one-stop place to go to find out what's happening. Michael puts lots of work into it
(May 31, 2021 04:45 AM)Yazata Wrote: This Thursday, June 3, SpaceX is slated to launch CRS 22, the latest supply capsule to the ISS. 17:29 UTC, 10:29 AM PDT, 1:29 PM EDT
Booster will be B1067, a raw rookie booster on its first spaceflight.
YazataJun 10, 2021 07:11 AM (This post was last modified: Jun 10, 2021 07:35 AM by Yazata.)
End of an era in Port Canaveral, as Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) leaves for what might be the last time. It isn't leaving SpaceX service like the fairing catching sisters Ms Tree and Ms Chief. But it is moving to Southern California, not to a retirement community but to take up booster catching duties for Vandenberg launches which are expected to pick up in frequency after a long lull. It will be based at the Port of LA.
The newer Just Read the Instructions (JRTI) remains in Port Canaveral where it will be joined by the third and newest booster catching "drone ship" called A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG). The names are from Iain Banks sci-fi novels that Elon likes. The "drone ships" (that's what SpaceX calls them) are barges that are hauled by tugs to a position in the ocean where autonomously controlled station-keeping thrusters that use GPS allow the barges to position themselves in a precise spot and remain there with an accuracy of a few feet despite currents and winds, while the boosters steer themselves from space down to the same spot. (The boosters don't use homing beacons or anything like that.)
YazataJun 15, 2021 02:15 AM (This post was last modified: Jun 15, 2021 05:29 AM by Yazata.)
Tomorrow Tuesday June 15, 2021, a classified spy satellite called nrol-111 is set to launch from Wallops atop a Minotaur I rocket. This is a solid fuel rocket adapted from a retired ICBM. It has a thrust to weight ratio of 2.6 to 1 and can be expected to just leap off the pad.
While the dialogue was vastly inferior to that of the second, the first video feed did have clearer camera footage and was minus that interval of obscuring clouds.
It's a dedicated rideshare mission called Transporter 2. It carries a whole collection of satellites, all of which split the cost.
Time will be 18:56 UTC, 11:56 AM PDT, 2:56 PM EDT.
Booster will be B1060.8 up for its eighth spaceflight. It will be launching from SLC 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
And unlike most Falcon9 flights, this one won't be attempting a landing at sea. It will be returning for a landing at LZ-1 right there at Cape Canaveral! Land landings are always spectacular and very sci-fi. (Whether or not they land at sea is a function of how massive their payload is and what the orbital parameters are.)
YazataJun 25, 2021 06:42 AM (This post was last modified: Jun 25, 2021 06:47 AM by Yazata.)
Looks like tomorrow's launch might have been postponed. Rocket is fine, but at least one of the customers wants more time to check out their satellite payload. (A problem with rideshares, since everyone has to be ready to go at the same time.)
YazataJun 28, 2021 07:58 PM (This post was last modified: Jun 28, 2021 08:00 PM by Yazata.)
Transporter 2 is back on for Tuesday June 29 at 18:56 UTC, 11:56 AM PDT, 2:56 PM EDT
This is the rideshare launch on Falcon 9 B1060.8 which will be returning to Cape Canaveral for a land landing at LZ-1 after its 8th trip to space. I love the pure sci-fi land landings.
Transporter 2 is back on for today in about 50 minutes (3:31 PM EDT, 19:31 UTC, 12:31 PM PDT) Yesterday's attempt was scrubbed due to a range violation, a helicopter flying in the no-fly zone. If this one gets off, it should give us a great return-to-launch-site landing at Cape Canaveral.
Jun 6, 2021 12:12 AM
(This post was last modified: Jun 6, 2021 02:15 AM by Yazata.)
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